EP3357202B1 - System for restoring services provided by a residential gateway - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to residential gateways.

More particularly, the invention relates to the restoration of at least one telecommunications service to which a residential gateway provides access, so as to ensure continuity of service in the event of a failure. For the sake of brevity, it will be said below that a gateway is "down" when at least one service to which it provides access in normal time is no longer accessible, or when the quality of at least one. service to which it provides access in normal times is degraded.

The IP ( Internet Protocol ) network is now the universal support for a multitude of applications and services, such as Voice over IP (“Voice over IP”, or VoIP, in English) or digital television (IPTV). It is the backbone network adopted by telecommunications operators to implement their various service offers. In recent years, this democratization of the Internet has made the general public one of the privileged targets of telecommunications operators, who are more and more numerous to position themselves in this market segment. This movement has been accompanied by the development of specific service offers adapted to this clientele, combining several services thus exploiting the advantages of the IP network. Among these, so-called multi-service offers, including so-called “ Triple Play ” offers (because simultaneously offering access to the Internet, video content (including the broadcasting of television programs) and conversational services (telephony over IP )), have captured a growing market share. Most of the time presented in the form of packages, these offers attract the general public thanks to their functional richness accessible at a reasonable price. Telecommunications operators therefore seek to stand out from one another by increasing and diversifying the number of services available in their "packages / packages", in order to attract and then retain their general public customers, in particular. In this regard, all general public customer profiles constitute a potential marketing target, from couples to young people, including people of a more advanced age.

• en termes de connectivité - la passerelle résidentielle est raccordée au réseau de l'opérateur d'un côté, et fournit côté client un ensemble d'interfaces variées, par exemple une interface sans-fil telle que WLAN (initiales des mots anglais « Wireless Local Area Network » signifiant « Réseau Local Sans-fil ») ou Bluetooth, une prise RJ11 pour la téléphonie, des prises RJ45 pour la télévision numérique et les ordinateurs, ou des prises USB (Universal Serial Bus) ;
• en termes de services - elle gère l'ensemble des services souscrits par le client, ainsi que les fonctions qui permettent d'accéder à ces services : téléphonie, télévision, connexion Internet, équipements satellites, fonctions NAT (initiales des mots anglais « Network Address Translator » signifiant « Traducteur d'Adresse Réseau »), pare-feu, et ainsi de suite ;
• en termes d'applicatifs - elle comprend par exemple des logiciels spécifiques à l'opérateur pour la fourniture des services à ses clients, le diagnostic, ou la gestion automatique de mises à jour logicielles.

One of the factors common to the offers of all these operators is the installation of a residential gateway, often called a "box", CPE (initials of the English words " Customer Premises Equipment " meaning "Equipment of a Client's Residence" ), or HG (initials of the English words “Home Gateway ” meaning “Domestic Gateway”), and which will be referred to simply as “gateway” hereafter. This equipment, installed at a customer (which may be an individual or a company) of a telecommunications operator or a service provider, is the hub of all the connections allowing access to the services subscribed by the client and the applications used by the client. Indeed, it represents, as its name suggests, a real bridge between, on the one hand, the operator or the service provider, and on the other hand its customers:

• in terms of connectivity - the residential gateway is connected to the operator's network on one side, and provides on the client side a set of various interfaces, for example a wireless interface such as WLAN (initials of the English words " Wireless Local Area Network ”meaning“ Wireless Local Area Network ”) or Bluetooth, an RJ11 socket for telephony, RJ45 sockets for digital television and computers, or USB (Universal Serial Bus) sockets;
• in terms of services - it manages all the services subscribed to by the customer, as well as the functions which provide access to these services: telephony, television, Internet connection, satellite equipment, NAT functions (initials of the English words " Network Address Translator ” meaning“ Network Address Translator ”), firewall, and so on;
• in terms of applications - it includes, for example, software specific to the operator for providing services to its customers, diagnostics, or automatic management of software updates.

For the sake of brevity, it will be said hereinafter that a gateway “provides” a telecommunications service to the user of this gateway, when the gateway allows the user to access this service.

Despite their increasingly widespread presence in homes for the general public, most of these residential gateways remain poorly known, even “mysterious”, equipment for most of their users. Worse, the majority of users, once the gateway is installed when subscribing to the service (if it is the customer who performs this installation himself), no longer intervenes on this equipment. In fact, these gateways generally represent kinds of “black boxes” unknown to their users, even though they are the central node which provides access to all the services they use on a daily basis.

This ignorance even leads to a certain disdain for this equipment, often considered as an unnecessary additional cost (the gateway being rented to the customer most of the time), or as equipment to be electrically restarted in the event of a problem affecting one of the services.

Most residential gateways have a web-based configuration and management interface, accessible in a protected manner via HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol ) . This interface is accessible via a URL ( Uniform Resource Locator) which can take the form of a predefined address (the IPv4 address “192.168.1.1” or a specific service name such as “MyBox”, for example); a username and password are generally required to access it in administrator mode. Once authenticated, the client (user) can then have access to a certain number of tools allowing him to act directly on the services and connections managed by his residential gateway. However, this gateway administration interface is little known to most customers. In addition, to benefit from it, the customer must be generally familiar with the technical terms used for the description of these services, otherwise he will not be able to predict exactly the impact of the changes he makes through the administration interface. .

In other words, access to the management elements (even basic) of the residential gateway requires from the general public customers a minimum of knowledge, de facto reducing the number of customers able to exploit these capacities. What may appear from the operator's point of view as a guarantee of safety (the risk for people with little knowledge of compromising the system being reduced), at the same time prevents these people from having control over the functions. simple from the residential walkway.

This lack of knowledge is all the more damaging as a better knowledge of the residential gateway would undoubtedly allow customers to better control the operation of the services to which they have subscribed, thus minimizing the need to call on the technical assistance service (" hotline " in English) in the event of a malfunction observed (for example, when the user of a residential gateway can no longer access at least one telecommunications service normally accessible via the gateway, or when the quality level of at least a service normally accessible via the residential gateway is degraded compared to the nominal level). Indeed, most basic or even advanced functions are directly manageable on the residential gateway. Unfortunately, the majority of general public customers do not have sufficient knowledge to be able to directly manage these functions, which leads to an increase in calls to the technical assistance service in the event of a malfunction observed, while some of these malfunctions can easily be observed. resolved by intervening directly on the residential walkway. If we consider the cost of managing technical assistance services for operators and service providers, without taking into account the impact on their image (waiting time, cost of calls), it is important to highlight provides effective solutions to reduce the number of requests for technical assistance services from operators and service providers.

• la gestion des pannes impose au client d'appeler l'opérateur ou le fournisseur de services pour signaler une dégradation ou une indisponibilité du service ; de plus, si la passerelle est devenue incapable de se raccorder au réseau et si la ligne téléphonique du client est raccordée à la passerelle (cas de la Voix sur IP), cette ligne téléphonique devient indisponible, de sorte que le client ne peut pas l'utiliser pour appeler le service d'assistance technique ;
• les clients ne savent pas si l'opérateur a entrepris des actions pour résoudre des pannes impactant un service auquel ils ont droit ;
• les délais de résolution de pannes ne sont pas connus à l'avance ; et
• le service est indisponible pendant la période de résolution d'une panne par l'opérateur ou le fournisseur de services ; on notera à cet égard que certains opérateurs mettent actuellement en place une procédure de prêt d'équipement (par exemple, clé 3G) pour permettre à certains clients de continuer d'accéder à l'Internet ; cette approche commerciale a plusieurs inconvénients, par exemple le fait que le client doit se rendre en boutique, ou que le client n'accède pas forcément à l'intégralité des services auxquels il a souscrit : en effet, il ne dispose ainsi que des services résultant directement de l'accès à Internet ; en particulier, l'accès au service de télévision numérique (IPTV) n'est pas garanti. Des passerelles configurées pour détecter et/ou utiliser des chemins de connexion alternatifs en cas de non-disponibilité de l'interface normale ou primaire sont connues par exemple des demandes de brevet WO 2012004503 A1 , US 2011066875 A1 , FR 2962869 A1 , WO 2010044714 A1 et WO 2007106843 A2 .

The service catering systems currently available to the general public have the following limitations in particular:

• failure management requires the customer to call the operator or the service provider to report a degradation or unavailability of the service; furthermore, if the gateway has become unable to connect to the network and if the customer's telephone line is connected to the gateway (in the case of Voice over IP), this telephone line becomes unavailable, so that the customer cannot access it. '' use to call the technical assistance service;
• customers do not know if the operator has taken actions to resolve failures impacting a service to which they are entitled;
• the deadlines for resolving faults are not known in advance; and
• the service is unavailable during the period of resolution of a failure by the operator or the service provider; in this regard, it should be noted that certain operators are currently setting up an equipment loan procedure (for example, 3G key) to allow certain customers to continue to access the Internet; this commercial approach has several drawbacks, for example the fact that the customer must go to the store, or that the customer does not necessarily have access to all the services to which he has subscribed: in fact, he only has access to the services resulting directly from Internet access; in particular, access to the digital television service (IPTV) is not guaranteed. Gateways configured to detect and / or use alternative connection paths in the event of non-availability of the normal or primary interface are known for example from patent applications. WO 2012004503 A1 , US 2011066875 A1 , FR 2962869 A1 , WO 2010044714 A1 and WO 2007106843 A2 .

• rechercher au moins une route IP, dite route de secours, vers un destinataire de données associées audit service, ladite route de secours passant
  • par une interface IP de ladite passerelle résidentielle, dite interface de secours, autre que la liaison entre la passerelle résidentielle et son équipement nominal de raccordement au réseau, et
  • par un autre dispositif communicant, dit dispositif diffusant, avec lequel la passerelle résidentielle est apte à établir une association réseau, et
• sélectionner une telle route de secours pour assurer la fourniture dudit service en utilisant ledit dispositif diffusant comme relais.

Ladite passerelle résidentielle est remarquable en ce qu'elle comprend en outre des moyens pour détecter la présence dudit dispositif diffusant en écoutant et en reconnaissant au moins un identifiant, dit identifiant de secours, diffusé par ledit dispositif diffusant.The present invention therefore relates to a residential gateway according to claim 1, comprising means for, following the detection of a failure consisting in that at least one service to which said gateway normally allows access is no longer accessible or in that the quality of at least one service to which it normally provides access is degraded:

• search for at least one IP route, called a backup route, to a recipient of data associated with said service, said backup route passing
  • by an IP interface of said residential gateway, called a backup interface, other than the link between the residential gateway and its nominal network connection equipment, and
  • by another communicating device, called a broadcasting device, with which the residential gateway is able to establish a network association, and
• selecting such an emergency route to ensure the provision of said service using said broadcasting device as a relay.

Said residential gateway is remarkable in that it further comprises means for detecting the presence of said broadcasting device by listening and recognizing at least one identifier, called emergency identifier, broadcast by said broadcasting device.

Thanks to these provisions, the residential gateway can continue to provide the service (s) to which the customer is entitled, when events of a different nature have the effect of degrading the level of quality associated with a service to which the residential gateway provides access. , by using communicating devices located in its vicinity. The invention thus guarantees the continuity of one or more services during breakdowns located in the gateways (including when the failure affects a main component of the gateway) or in their vicinity (in particular the local home network), or even during failures in the operator's network, by allowing the failed gateway to find workarounds of emergency, and this, in an autonomous way. It should be noted that the service restoration systems currently available to the general public do not include technical means intended to guarantee the continuity of service in an autonomous manner.

In addition, the invention advantageously provides service restoration means that do not involve the slightest intervention on the part of the customer. It is of course possible, as an option, to keep the customer informed of the progress of the treatment of the failure, while ensuring that the fault detection and resolution procedures remain transparent for the customer (the invention can indeed be implemented without informing the customer that a failure has been detected, particularly when an emergency route allowing to continue providing the service affected by the failure has been found). Regardless, the invention significantly improves customer experience and satisfaction.

According to particular characteristics, said residential gateway comprises means for, following said selection of at least one backup route, updating a routing table comprising said backup route.

Thanks to these arrangements, the residential gateway can dynamically set up routing and routing policies to direct outgoing traffic to one or more backup routes.

According to even more specific characteristics, said routing table comprises said backup route before said detection of a failure.

Thanks to these arrangements, the residential gateway can, following the detection of a fault, determine without delay which backup routes are available.

• détecter ladite panne,
• rechercher au moins une route pouvant la connecter à au moins un Centre de Supervision des Passerelles, et
• si elle trouve une telle route et si elle détecte une panne, utiliser cette route pour envoyer au moins un rapport de panne à au moins un Centre de Supervision des Passerelles.

According to other particular characteristics, said gateway further comprises means for:

• detect said failure,
• find at least one route that can connect it to at least one Gateway Supervision Center, and
• if it finds such a route and if it detects a failure, use this route to send at least one failure report to at least one Gateway Supervision Center.

• de détection de panne dans une passerelle résidentielle, et
• de notification de panne à l'utilisateur de cette passerelle,

mais ne comportent pas de moyens de notification automatique au réseau. Thus, the present invention proposes to embed technical means in a residential gateway allowing it to detect failures and to inform the network operator or the service provider about these failures, in an autonomous and proactive manner, that is, that is to say, in particular, without soliciting the customer. Residential gateways are thus integrated into the supervision chain of the network operator or service provider. It should be noted that the service restoration systems currently available to the general public include, in certain embodiments (see for example the request EP-2247088 ), automatic means:

• fault detection in a residential gateway, and
• failure notification to the user of this gateway,

but do not include automatic notification means to the network.

• via une interface IP, ou
• en utilisant des techniques de transport L2 (pour « Layer 2 » en anglais, signifiant « Couche 2 » du modèle OSI, dite « couche de liaison de données », c'est à dire sans les fonctions de transfert IP telles que l'acheminement et le routage IP) si la couche L2 de raccordement au réseau d'accès (i.e., le segment entre la passerelle et l'équipement de raccordement situé dans le réseau de l'opérateur) est encore opérationnelle.

To do this, the gateway can send a fault report, for example:

• via an IP interface, or
• by using L2 transport techniques (for " Layer 2 " in English, meaning "Layer 2" of the OSI model, called "data link layer", that is to say without the IP transfer functions such as routing and IP routing) if the L2 layer of connection to the access network (ie, the segment between the gateway and the connection equipment located in the operator's network) is still operational.

Thanks to these provisions, the recovery time for the services affected by the failure is reduced, and the number of calls to technical assistance services (which are expensive for operators) is reduced.

It will be noted that the implementation of the invention does not require a telephone terminal or an interface fitted on the gateway. Nevertheless, it is possible, optionally, to integrate external terminals for needs such as the notification of breakdowns, or the transmission of specific messages to the operator network.

• au moins une passerelle résidentielle telle que décrite succinctement ci-dessus, et
• au moins un autre dispositif communicant, dit dispositif diffusant, comprenant des moyens pour servir de relais à ladite passerelle résidentielle pour assurer la fourniture dudit service, ainsi que des moyens pour diffuser un identifiant reconnaissable par la passerelle résidentielle.

According to a second aspect, the invention also relates to a service restoration system according to claim 6, comprising:

• at least one residential gateway as described briefly above, and
• at least one other communicating device, said broadcasting device, comprising means for serving as a relay for said residential gateway to ensure the provision of said service, as well as means for broadcasting an identifier recognizable by the residential gateway.

The advantages offered by this system are essentially the same as those offered by the gateway briefly described above.

According to particular characteristics, said backup identifier is characteristic of the technology of said backup interface and / or of said service.

Thanks to these arrangements, if the gateway has a plurality of backup interfaces, it can use different interfaces, and therefore different backup routes, depending on the technology of the backup interface used and / or the service of which. continuity must be ensured.

According to other particular characteristics, said broadcasting device further comprises means for temporarily stopping broadcasting said emergency identifier when it does not have an operational IP route to provide the associated service (s). to this backup identifier.

Thanks to these arrangements, routing loops generated when a failed residential gateway chooses, to relay the traffic, a broadcasting device which is at the same time unable to act as a relay is avoided (for example, in the case of where the failure affects the network element which terminates the network connections of both the gateway and the broadcasting device).

• détection d'une panne consistant en ce qu'au moins un service auquel une passerelle résidentielle permet normalement d'accéder n'est plus accessible ou en ce que la qualité d'au moins un service auquel une passerelle résidentielle permet normalement d'accéder est dégradée,
• recherche par ladite passerelle d'au moins une route IP, dite route de secours, vers un destinataire de données associées audit service, ladite route de secours passant
  • par une interface IP de ladite passerelle, dite interface de secours, autre que la liaison entre la passerelle et son équipement nominal de raccordement au réseau, et
  • par un autre dispositif communicant, dit dispositif diffusant, avec lequel la passerelle résidentielle est apte à établir une association réseau, et
• sélection par la passerelle résidentielle d'une telle route de secours pour assurer la fourniture dudit service en utilisant ledit dispositif diffusant comme relais.

According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a service restoration method according to claim 9, comprising the following steps:

• detection of a failure consisting in that at least one service to which a residential gateway normally allows access is no longer accessible or in that the quality of at least one service to which a residential gateway normally allows access is degraded,
• search by said gateway for at least one IP route, called backup route, to a recipient of data associated with said service, said backup route passing
  • by an IP interface of said gateway, called a backup interface, other than the link between the gateway and its nominal network connection equipment, and
  • by another communicating device, called a broadcasting device, with which the residential gateway is able to establish a network association, and
• selection by the residential gateway of such an emergency route to ensure the provision of said service using said broadcasting device as a relay.

Said method is remarkable in that the residential gateway has detected the presence of said broadcasting device by listening to and recognizing at least one identifier, called backup identifier, broadcast by said broadcasting device.

According to particular characteristics, following said selection of at least one backup route, said method comprises a step of updating a routing table comprising said backup route.

According to even more specific characteristics, said routing table comprises said backup route before said detection of a failure.

According to other particular characteristics, said backup identifier is characteristic of the technology of said backup interface and / or of said service.

• recherche d'au moins une route pouvant la connecter à au moins un Centre de Supervision des Passerelles, et
• si elle trouve une telle route, utilisation de cette route pour envoyer au moins un rapport de panne à au moins un Centre de Supervision des Passerelles.

According to yet other particular characteristics, said fault detection is carried out by said gateway, and the gateway then implements the following steps:

• search for at least one route that can connect it to at least one Gateway Supervision Center, and
• if it finds such a route, use this route to send at least one fault report to at least one Gateway Supervision Center.

According to even more particular characteristics, said residential gateway sends said fault report via an IP interface or via the data link layer.

The advantages offered by this method are essentially the same as those offered by the system briefly described above.

It will be noted that it is possible to produce the gateway and the broadcasting device according to the invention in the context of software instructions and / or in the context of electronic circuits.

This is why the invention also relates to a computer program which can be downloaded from a communication network and / or stored on a medium readable by a computer and / or executable by a microprocessor according to claims 15 and 16. This computer program is remarkable in that it includes instructions for performing the steps of the service restoration method described briefly above, when it is executed on a computer.

The advantages offered by this computer program are essentially the same as those offered by the method described briefly above.

• la figure 1 représente l'envoi d'un rapport de panne par une passerelle vers un point de contact de service,
• la figure 2 illustre un exemple de messages échangés entre une passerelle ayant détecté une panne et un point de contact de service via une seule passerelle relais,
• la figure 3 illustre un exemple de messages échangés entre une passerelle ayant détecté une panne et un point de contact de service via une pluralité de passerelles relais,
• la figure 4 illustre le chemin emprunté par les données émises par une passerelle en panne à destination d'un correspondant connecté à Internet,
• la figure 5 illustre l'émission par un Centre de Supervision de Passerelles, suite à la réception d'un rapport de panne, d'un message contenant des instructions destinées à être appliquées par le réseau,
• la figure 6 représente l'utilisation, par une passerelle en panne, d'une pluralité de dispositifs relais soit concomitamment soit à tour de rôle,
• la figure 7 représente une configuration analogue à celle de la figure 6, mais dans laquelle on utilise en outre un concentrateur de connexions réseau,
• la figure 8 illustre un exemple de messages échangés entre une passerelle en panne et un correspondant via une chaîne de passerelles et un concentrateur, et
• la figure 9 illustre l'établissement d'une communication téléphonique, via une ou plusieurs passerelles relais, entre d'une part un téléphone VoIP connecté à une passerelle dont la panne affecte le service nominal de VoIP, et d'autre part un téléphone VoIP connecté au réseau.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the detailed description below of particular embodiments, given by way of nonlimiting examples. The description refers to the accompanying figures, in which:

• the figure 1 represents the sending of a fault report by a gateway to a service point of contact,
• the figure 2 illustrates an example of messages exchanged between a gateway having detected a failure and a service point of contact via a single relay gateway,
• the figure 3 illustrates an example of messages exchanged between a gateway having detected a failure and a service contact point via a plurality of relay gateways,
• the figure 4 illustrates the path taken by the data sent by a failed gateway to a correspondent connected to the Internet,
• the figure 5 illustrates the transmission by a Gateway Supervision Center, following receipt of a fault report, of a message containing instructions intended to be applied by the network,
• the figure 6 represents the use, by a failed gateway, of a plurality of relay devices either concomitantly or in turn,
• the figure 7 represents a configuration similar to that of the figure 6 , but in which a network connection concentrator is also used,
• the figure 8 illustrates an example of messages exchanged between a failed gateway and a correspondent via a chain of gateways and a concentrator, and
• the figure 9 illustrates the establishment of a telephone communication, via one or more relay gateways, between on the one hand a VoIP telephone connected to a gateway whose failure affects the nominal VoIP service, and on the other hand a VoIP telephone connected to the network .

As explained above, the invention aims to enhance the capabilities and intelligence of a residential gateway in order to ensure continuity of service in the event of a failure. The gateways must naturally be configured to implement the invention; this configuration can be done statically or dynamically, for example using protocols such as DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) or TR-69 (CPE WAN Management Protocol).

To resolve certain cases of breakdowns where customers call the technical assistance service unnecessarily, it is possible to use, if its access is operational, a network interface which is not part of the interfaces described in the commercial offer subscribed by this customer. To illustrate this case, consider a gateway equipped with both an optical interface (fiber) and an electrical interface (ADSL). If the customer connects his gateway using the optical port instead of connecting it to the ADSL port (because he did not pay attention to the "color code" indicated in the installation manual, or because another person changed the connection), the customer will not be able to access his services; in other words, this ADSL client will not be able to access the connectivity service if it connects through the optical port. Provision can be made that, in such a case, a message is immediately displayed to the customer via a dedicated interface to inform him that, even if the connected network port is active (flashing LED diode to signify that the line is operational from the point of view of the physical connection), connectivity cannot be provided because its service offering is not compatible (access to the service refused), and an invitation to use the “correct” network port will be immediately offered by the gateway. The transmission of such a message assumes that the gateway has the required information on the commercial offer subscribed by the customer. Note that all the information relating to the incompatibility between a commercial offer and the choice of physical connection of the gateway can be detected (even collected) by the network, so that the latter is prepared to process a call made by a customer who did not take into account the motion for a local resolution.

An embodiment of the service restoration method according to the invention will now be described by way of example.

According to a first step, a network entity detects a failure concerning a residential gateway CPE_1 connected to the network. It will be noted that several services can be simultaneously faulty. In particular, the failure of a service will result in the unavailability of all the services based on the failed service: for example, the unavailability of the Internet access service can prevent the communication of electronic messages and the establishment of communications. telephone. This intrinsic dependency between services (as well as other service logics) may be known to, or detected by, the residential gateway.

According to a first variant, it is the CPE_1 gateway itself which detects this failure. To this end, the CPE_1 gateway preferably embeds the following two modules.

A first module records recent modifications in the configurations and states of the physical interfaces, as well as the decisions taken locally by the gateway automatically. These decisions taken locally are intended to resolve certain problems without straining the network. The first module also records software updates and activation / deactivation operations of services such as DNS (Domain Name System), UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), firewall, PCP (Port Control Protocol), or SAMBA (Server Message Block).

These records are time stamped. The gateway preferably activates a mechanism for synchronizing its internal clock, for example by using the resources of the NTP (Network Time Protocol). A file for logging diagnostic and troubleshooting operations is maintained by the gateway. This file can be consulted remotely by the operator, or be recovered by a fault management platform. It can be attached to any complaint made by the customer. Note that the data recorded in this file must not infringe on privacy or disclose personal information. Only the information necessary for the provision of the service (s) is processed. This module continues to operate even during the outage.

A second module is responsible for checking whether the services subscribed by the customer are fully accessible (that is to say accessible with the nominal Quality of Service). This module also concerns the domestic services embedded in the gateway, such as for example a print server or a file sharing server. The benchmark used to characterize a nominal level of service provision can be calculated locally by the gateway on the basis of heuristics (for example, local profiling) or provided by the operator as input information for an application. dedicated. This information is specific to each service, to the underlying technologies used for the provision of a service, and also includes other parameters.

This second module is also responsible for detecting any loss of connectivity in the local network (for example, a problem with attaching a laptop computer) or in the WAN network (initials of the English words " Wide Area Network " meaning " Extended Network ”). This module makes it possible to distinguish whether a failure comes from the local network or from the WAN network. Particularly, the status of WAN connectivity should be monitored and checked regularly. This module performs local tests, for example, on a regular basis or when certain events occur. The results of these tests are recorded locally in order to assess any deviation in the behavior of the gateway. The results are also time-stamped in order to facilitate the correlation of the configuration operations, carried out by the customer or requested by the operator, with the faults observed.

The gateway further comprises means for purging the data used for autonomous service supervision. These means can be automated (for example, change of client connection identifier, critical memory size exceeding a certain threshold, memory leak, and so on) or invoked on demand (either by the network operator or by the customer). Also, within the framework of the autonomous management of the gateway, certain adjustments can be made locally, such as deactivating a faulty process. However, precautions can be taken to minimize the risks of dysfunction of the autonomous management procedures, for example by assigning them a high priority. Other precautions can be taken to ensure the reliability of the autonomous control system. These precautions will generally be specific to each operator.

According to a second variant of said first step, the failure affecting the gateway CPE_1 is detected by an entity other than the gateway CPE_1 itself, this entity being located in the access infrastructure of the network. For example, a failure caused by the breaking of the link connecting the gateway to the network can be detected by a DSLAM (initials of the English words " Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer " meaning "Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer") or by an ARM (initials of the English words “Broadband Remote Access Server ” meaning “Broadband Server for Remote Access”). Moreover, this detection can be carried out by a dynamic routing protocol, or by a failure detection protocol such as the BFD (Bidirectional Forwarding Detection) protocol.

According to a second step of this embodiment, the network entity which detected the failure sends at least one failure report to at least one supervision platform denoted CSC (initials of the English words “ CPE Supervision Center ” meaning “Supervision Center”. of Gateways ”) located upstream in the network to which the gateway is connected, in order to notify the network of this failure, and to launch the operations required to determine the origin of the failure and to repair it.

• plusieurs CSC peuvent être déployés dans un réseau d'opérateur ou de fournisseur de services ; dans ce cas, un, plusieurs ou l'ensemble de ces CSC peuvent recevoir un ou plusieurs rapports de panne ;
• même si l'entité émettrice ne connaît qu'un seul CSC, elle peut lui envoyer le rapport de panne plusieurs fois (par exemple, trois fois) pour s'assurer que le rapport sera effectivement reçu.

Note that:

• multiple CSCs can be deployed in an operator or service provider network; in this case, one, several or all of these CSCs may receive one or more fault reports;
• even if the issuing entity knows only one CSC, it may send the fault report to it multiple times (for example, three times) to ensure that the report will actually be received.

Optionally, upon receipt of the fault report, a CSC can issue a fault ticket; in addition, a fault number is communicated to the gateway. This number can also be communicated to the customer locally (for example on a gateway or television configuration interface), or by SMS (initials of the English words “ Simple Message Service ” meaning “Simple Message Service”) or SMTP (initials of the English words " Simple Mail Transfer Protocol " meaning "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol"). A message can be displayed using a screen on the gateway, this message telling the customer that arrangements have been made, and asking them not to call technical support. The customer is preferably informed regularly of the progress of the treatment of the failure. A fault report can be made available to the customer once the fault has been resolved. This report can be sent to the customer (email, SMS) or can be viewed online. When the implementation of the invention ensures a level of service similar to the nominal level, the procedure can be dispensed with the notification phase: there is indeed no need to pollute the customer with irrelevant information, since the service provided maintains its level of quality; this makes fault detection and resolution as transparent as possible for the customer.

In the context of the first variant described above, the gateway also comprises means for searching for at least one route which can connect it to at least one CSC, following or, preferably, prior to the detection of a failure.

If the failure affects the IP layer of the link between the gateway and its network connection equipment, the gateway may however send a failure report using L2 framing (for example, by transmitting Ethernet packets), unless the L2 layer is also down. If, moreover, the gateway does not have any IP connectivity, it will be necessary to wait for the technical services of the operator or the service provider to resolve the failure; in this case, it is preferable to transmit to the customer (for example according to one of the methods described above) the information according to which the network has been notified of the failure.

On the other hand, if the gateway has at least one IP interface (which will be called a “backup interface”) other than the link between the gateway and its nominal network connection equipment, the gateway can optionally send the fault report via this backup interface, instead of using L2 framing.

On the figure 1 , by way of example, a failure report, sent by a gateway CPE_1 having detected a failure, is routed via one or more gateways CPE_2, CPE_3, ..., CPE_n playing the role of relay.

The figure 2 illustrates an example of messages exchanged between a CPE_1 gateway having detected a failure and a CSC via a single CPE_2 relay gateway. The figure 3 illustrates an example of messages exchanged between a gateway having detected a CPE_1 failure and a CSC via a plurality of relay gateways CPE_2, CPE_3, ..., CPE_n. The routing tables of the relay gateways can, in addition to the source IP address used in said messages, take into account an identifier specific to each gateway, such as a serial number or a MAC address (initials of the English words " Medium Access Control ”meaning“ Medium Access Control ”).

In response to receiving and analyzing a failure report, a CSC may issue instructions to the failed gateway. In particular, the CSC or the network can send the gateway the instruction to let the network take care of the operations capable of ensuring the continuity of service. If a CSC has received the fault report via more than one path, it can choose which of these paths it will use to transmit these instructions to the gateway.

According to a third step of this embodiment, the failed gateway provides service continuity autonomously. It is obviously assumed here that the gateway has not received a back command from the network, according to the option mentioned above; in addition, it is assumed that the failed gateway has at least one backup interface, as defined above.

• de se comporter comme un terminal-client, c'est-à-dire qu'elle doit être capable d'établir une association réseau avec un autre dispositif, que l'on appellera « dispositif de secours », et
• de trouver une route IP passant par une de ses interfaces de secours et par un dispositif de secours, et aboutissant à un destinataire concerné par un service à restaurer.

To be able to ensure the continuity of service independently, the failed gateway must be able to:

• to behave like a terminal-client, that is to say it must be able to establish a network association with another device, which will be called a “backup device”, and
• to find an IP route passing through one of its backup interfaces and through a backup device, and ending in a recipient concerned by a service to be restored.

In the context of the present invention, the term “IP route” is understood to mean a route calculated, selected and installed by a failed gateway to route IP traffic to a given destination.

• une route IP utilisée par la passerelle pour l'envoi d'un rapport de panne vers un CSC n'est pas nécessairement une route de secours utilisée pour assurer la restauration d'un service ;
• si la passerelle dispose d'une pluralité d'interfaces de secours, elle peut utiliser des interfaces différentes pour restaurer des services différents ; autrement dit, les routes de secours qui contribuent à garantir la continuité de service peuvent être spécifiques à chaque service ; la passerelle doit donc de préférence être capable de maintenir des tables de routage par service, et de mettre en œuvre des mécanismes pour associer une route à un service, c'est-à-dire de mettre en place dynamiquement des politiques de routage et d'acheminement pour diriger le trafic sortant vers une ou plusieurs routes de secours.

It should be noted in this regard that:

• an IP route used by the gateway for sending a failure report to a CSC is not necessarily a backup route used to ensure the restoration of a service;
• if the gateway has a plurality of backup interfaces, it can use different interfaces to restore different services; in other words, the back-up routes which help to guarantee the continuity of service can be specific to each service; the gateway must therefore preferably be capable of maintaining routing tables by service, and of implementing mechanisms to associate a route with a service, that is to say of dynamically setting up routing policies and 'routing to direct outgoing traffic to one or more backup routes.

• les dispositifs de secours peuvent être par exemple des passerelles, des terminaux mobiles, ou des points d'accès WLAN ;
• les dispositifs de secours peuvent être opérés par le même opérateur, ou par des opérateurs différents de celui qui opère la ligne principale de la passerelle en panne ; et
• les dispositifs de secours peuvent utiliser des technologies de connectivité de différente nature (telles que WiFi, WiMAX, GSM, LTE, 5G, Ethernet, ou Fibre) ; par exemple, pour restaurer un service de télévision numérique, on utilisera de préférence, comme dispositif de secours, une autre passerelle résidentielle (par opposition, par exemple, à un téléphone portable), car les signaux de télévision numérique sont généralement diffusés selon le mode de transmission multicast vers les passerelles résidentielles.

It will also be noted that the invention makes no assumption as to the nature of the emergency devices. Notably :

• the back-up devices can be, for example, gateways, mobile terminals, or WLAN access points;
• the back-up devices can be operated by the same operator, or by operators different from the one operating the main line of the failed gateway; and
• backup devices can use connectivity technologies of different kinds (such as WiFi, WiMAX, GSM, LTE, 5G, Ethernet, or Fiber); for example, in order to restore a digital television service, one will preferably use, as a back-up device, another residential gateway (as opposed, for example, to a mobile telephone), since digital television signals are generally broadcast according to the mode multicast transmission to residential gateways.

When a gateway therefore experiences a failure affecting the nominal IP connectivity service, it establishes an automatic session association with a nearby backup device. This emergency device will play the role of relay. The gateway's IP routing table is then updated accordingly. To this end, it is possible, optionally, to set up in the gateway, even before the detection of a failure, a backup routing table per service, so that the gateway can have it available without delay following the detection of a failure. ; in this case, the structure of the routing tables can be configured to indicate the type of a route, ie "primary" or "backup".

Interconnection agreements (for this new form of “roaming”, which will be referred to as “CPE roaming”) may be required to allow the use of back-up devices (without customers necessarily being aware of these agreements) ; CPE roaming agreements allow an operator to ensure optimal coverage in order to be able to rescue certain customer gateways in the event of a breakdown; in doing so, the pooling of the back-up procedure between all the operators or a group of operators makes it possible to optimize the integration costs, and also to improve the efficiency of the procedure.

For example, on the figure 4 , the data sent by a failed CPE_1 gateway are routed to a correspondent RM1 (RM are the initials of the English words “ Remote Machine ” meaning “Remote Machine”) connected to the Internet, via a succession of backup devices constituted here by gateways CPE_2, CPE_3, ..., CPE_n.

Traffic sent via a backup route can be rejected by the operator's network if the gateway fails to identify or if the client has not subscribed to the service associated with this traffic. In fact, it is necessary to prevent a user from being able to use the resources of the service continuity system according to the invention to access a service, when he is not entitled to it and therefore cannot have access to it via his. main line.

In order to prevent a malicious user from intercepting the traffic of other clients by simulating a backup device, a mutual authentication procedure will preferably be provided between the gateway and the backup device. backup chosen to relay the fault report and / or ensure continuity of service (this relay is called a “requested relay device”); this mutual authentication will make it possible to prevent the broken down gateway from relaying the traffic to a “pirate” device, that is to say not authorized to relay the data sent by the gateway and likely to cause a denial of service. In addition, in order to preserve the confidentiality of the exchanges, all the traffic sent to a requested relay device is preferably encrypted.

During the attachment phase, preventively or in case of detection of an address conflict, the requested relay device allocates to the failed gateway an IPv4 address, or an IPv6 address, or both, a pool of addresses IPv4 and / or IPv6 having been reserved for this use.

The identifier (such as a serial number or a MAC address) of the failed gateway is not altered during the routing of its packets to the requested relay device. Each intermediate gateway keeps in memory a state of a packet relayed to other neighboring gateways or to the CSC. This storage can be implemented for sending the fault report to the CSC and receiving instructions from the network ( figure 1 ), and / or to guarantee continuity of service in the event of a breakdown ( figure 4 ) thanks to the installation of symmetrical routes making it possible to relay the return traffic to the broken down gateway. Examples of messages illustrated on figures 2 and 3 , described above, provide more details regarding the processing of packets by intermediate gateways; in particular, with reference to these two examples, a NAT operation is performed by each intermediate relay gateway without modifying the identifier of the failed gateway.

In order not to disturb the operation of the back-up devices serving as relays for a failed gateway, provision can be made for the automatic activation of traffic conditioning rules; these rules will be deactivated once the nominal service becomes operational again. For the same purpose, the CSC may, as illustrated by the figure 5 , update the traffic conditioning rules (“ Policing / Shaping ” in English), as applied, preferably, by the connection node (designated by “R” in the figure) to the access network (this node which can be a DSLAM, for example) in the chain of standby devices, in order to be able to absorb the traffic of the failed gateway. The CSC can for example send a message (designated by POLICY_UPDATE () in the figure) having the effect of modifying the admission control rules, the uplink / downlink resource thresholds, the authorized services, and so on, after having received the fault report (denoted by REPORT () in the figure).

• une passerelle CPE_1 pour communiquer avec un correspondant RM2, et
• une chaîne de passerelles CPE_3, ..., CPE_n pour communiquer avec un correspondant RM1.

In order not to degrade the level of service of a back-up device serving on its own as a relay to a failed gateway, this gateway can call on several back-up devices. For example, the failed gateway could use several relay gateways, but simultaneously distributing the traffic between them, or using each relay gateway in turn for a given time. Several back-up devices can thus be called upon for the same service or for separate services. For example, the figure 6 represents a failed CPE_2 gateway, which uses, as backup devices:

• a CPE_1 gateway to communicate with an RM2 correspondent, and
• a chain of gateways CPE_3, ..., CPE_n to communicate with a correspondent RM1.

In order for the data sent by a failed gateway to reach its correspondents in packets having the same source address (called “external address”) independently of the relay device (s) requested, it is possible, as illustrated by figure 7 , use a network connection concentrator (known per se); in this regard, it will be recalled that the term “network connection concentrator” is used to refer to any network function making it possible to aggregate the connections using the different paths that can be used by any device to establish communication with any remote device. It is thus also possible to isolate the traffic originating from the failed gateway from that of the relay device and provide legal interception functions. In this embodiment, the traffic is encapsulated towards said concentrator; the identifier of the failed gateway is inserted in the header of the packet encapsulating the data sent by this gateway.

The figure 8 illustrates an example of messages exchanged between a failed gateway and a correspondent RM1 via a chain of gateways CPE_3, ..., CPE_n and a concentrator.

In order to compensate for the contribution of an emergency device in emergency mode (for example, to compensate for the use that is made of this device by a third party user, including the power consumption due to non-personal use), the operator can provide a commercial gesture in favor of the owner of the emergency device. Additionally, users typically rely on gateway LEDs to detect that traffic is being sent / received by a gateway. This is why we can use a dedicated LED diode to reassure the owner of a gateway used as a relay that the traffic exchanged is legitimate. Alternatively, LEDs can signal the presence or absence of relayed traffic: for example, the color code "green" could be used to indicate that the gateway is only handling local customer traffic, while the color code " orange ”could be used to indicate that the gateway is handling, in addition to the local traffic of the client, the traffic of another client as part of the fallback procedure. The meters controlling the interfaces must also take into account this distinction between local traffic and relayed traffic characteristic of another user / client.

The operation of IP connectivity despite the failure affecting the nominal IP connectivity service can in practice present itself in a wide variety of ways.

Thus, in the state of the art, service restoration systems are known in which the gateway has, in its vicinity, at least one permanent backup WAN route, for example due to the fact that the gateway is connected to a LTE radio station (Long Term Evolution), or the fact that the gateway is installed on the site of a company which systematically provides for a double connection to the network (s) based on the use of two separate paths. These known systems have the drawback that they require the permanent presence (and maintenance) of a large-scale emergency equipment, while the occurrences of failure are rare (in principle).

The present invention solves this problem by proposing that, following the detection of a failure, a gateway dynamically selects another IP route than the nominal route for connection to the network, this other IP route (called “backup route”) passing through an emergency device capable of serving as a relay ; for example, the gateway can use a client's mobile phone as a relay, connected to a WLAN, or Bluetooth, or NFC (Near Field Communication) interface of the gateway and which will relay the data traffic via a GSM connection (Global System for Mobile Communications) or LTE. In addition, the backup IP route (s) can be proactively installed in routing tables in order to anticipate any failure or degradation of service.

So that a gateway can make a dynamic call to one or more relays in the event of a failure, the invention proposes the use of one or more dedicated identifiers, which will be called “backup identifiers”, and which were detected (“listened to”) by the gateway before and / or after the failure was detected. The backup identifiers are configured in a particular set of backup devices called "broadcast devices", which can be, for example, residential gateways and / or WLAN access points and / or mobile terminals of clients; each backup identifier is broadcast, preferably periodically, by at least one broadcasting device. A given backup identifier can be specific to each network operator, or be common to a group of operators.

Naturally, the format of each backup identifier is characteristic of the technology of the associated backup interfaces. It is therefore possible, in a given set of broadcasting devices, to provide several distinct backup identifiers if the gateway has backup interfaces of different technologies.

It will be noted that the backup identifier according to the invention should not be confused with the “SSID” conventionally used by WLAN access points for local use; it is recalled in this regard that the “SSID” (initials of the English words “ Service Set Identifier ” meaning “Service Set Identifier”) is the name of a “Wi-Fi” network according to the IEEE 802.11 standard, and that 'it is intended to be “listened to” by the terminals to allow them (if they are authorized to do so) to connect to a “Wi-Fi” access point broadcasting a certain SSID.

• la passerelle installe préventivement plusieurs routes IP qui permettent de joindre un même fournisseur de service avec succès ; et/ou
• tout dispositif diffusant qui détecte une panne sur son interface WAN principale cesse de diffuser ledit identifiant de secours temporairement, par exemple aussi longtemps qu'il n'a pas découvert un relais apte à relayer le rapport de panne vers le CSC, ou n'a pas installé de route(s) de secours pour son propre bénéfice.

A risk associated with the system according to the invention is that of routing loops which could be generated if a failed gateway requested, to relay the traffic, a broadcasting device which is located at the same time in the inability to act as a relay (for example, in the event that the failure affects the network element that terminates the network connections of both the gateway and the broadcasting device). To avoid this risk, it should preferably be provided that:

• the gateway preventively installs several IP routes which make it possible to reach the same service provider successfully; and or
• any broadcasting device which detects a failure on its main WAN interface stops broadcasting said backup identifier temporarily, for example as long as it has not discovered a relay capable of relaying the failure report to the CSC, or has not no emergency route (s) installed for its own benefit.

The end of the failure can be detected directly by the gateway, or be notified to the gateway by a CSC or the network. Preferably, the gateway comprises means for returning to nominal routing when the failure has been resolved, so that the failure and its resolution are completely transparent to the client. The switching of traffic to the main connection thus re-established can then be done immediately or in a deferred manner, by virtue of a logic which can be specific to each service and known to the gateway. For example, it can be expected that only new telephone calls will use the primary line, while calls in progress continue to use an emergency route.

Finally, we will describe the application of the invention to two very widespread types of services.

In the case of a customer having subscribed to a Voice over IP (VoIP) offer, the gateway embeds a proxy function, for example SIP Proxy (initials of the English words "Session Initiation Protocol" meaning "Session Initialization Protocol" ), intended to relay the signaling messages (SIP INVITE) sent by a VoIP terminal to a telephony service platform, for example an SBC (Session Border Controller) or a P-CSCF (Proxy-Call Session Control Function); it is these signaling messages which condition access to the VoIP service, that is to say which make it possible to register with the service, then to establish and receive calls. The figure 9 illustrates the establishment of a telephone communication, via one or more relay gateways, between a VoIP telephone "A", connected to a gateway CPE_1, and a VoIP phone “X”, connected to the network. Note that the identifiers of the telephone line, even when requesting a relay gateway, remain those of the broken telephone line.

In the case of a customer having subscribed to an IP television offer (IPTV offer), or Video on Demand (“ Video on Demand ” , or VoD, in English), the gateway embeds a proxy function, for example IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) or MLD (Multicast Listener Discovery) proxy, intended to relay the subscription and unsubscription messages to an IPTV content broadcasting service (broadcasting of television programs, in particular) sent by the receiver / decoder (" Set Top Box ” , or STB in English) connected to the gateway to the access equipment in charge of processing these subscription / unsubscribe messages; it is these signaling messages which condition access to the IPTV content desired by the client, that is to say the television program to which the client wishes to access. The corresponding traffic is routed along distribution trees calculated and established according to the IP multicast transmission mode. Each termination of the tree is located in an access device which connects different clients interested in receiving the content. When a failure occurs on the customer's connection line to the network, the signaling traffic is redirected to a relay device which embeds the appropriate proxy function: this assumes that the failed gateway has the capacity to dynamically discover the functions provided by the relay devices that this gateway is likely to call upon; conventional protocols such as DHCP or SLP can be used for this purpose. Also, to reduce the fallback time, it is possible to set up a specific backup identifier per service; this specific backup identifier makes it possible to initiate a network association procedure limited to relay devices able to relay the traffic of said service.

The proxy function of the relay gateway is then responsible for relaying the new subscription or unsubscription requests to an IPTV content broadcasting service sent by the IPTV receiver (s) connected to the broken down gateway. These requests will be processed by the access equipment to which the relay gateway is connected. Once the subscription request is processed, the characteristic traffic of the requested IPTV content is routed by the access equipment to the relay device, which transmits it to the broken down gateway, which finally takes care of forwarding it to the IPTV receiver.

In this context, the traffic is inevitably broadcast on the local network to which the relay gateway is connected (because the gateway behaves like an L2 device on the local network), in addition to being routed to the failed gateway. To avoid polluting the local network to which the relay gateway is connected by unwanted IPTV broadcast traffic, the relay gateway can use means for analyzing and filtering the traffic intended for an IP multicast group address.

The invention can be implemented within nodes, for example domestic or corporate gateways, or broadcast devices, of communication networks, by means of software and / or hardware components.

The software components can be integrated into a conventional computer program for managing a network node. Therefore, as indicated above, the present invention also relates to a computer system. This computer system conventionally comprises a central processing unit controlling a memory by signals, as well as an input unit and an output unit. In addition, this computer system can be used to execute a computer program comprising instructions for implementing the service restoration method according to the invention.

Indeed, the invention is also aimed at a computer program downloadable from a communication network comprising instructions for the execution of the steps of the service restoration method according to the invention, when it is executed on a computer. This computer program can be stored on a computer readable medium and can be executed by a microprocessor.

This program can use any programming language, and be in the form of source code, object code, or intermediate code between source code and object code, such as in a partially compiled form, or in any other desirable shape.

The invention also relates to an information medium, irremovable, or partially or totally removable, readable by a computer, and comprising instructions of a computer program as mentioned above.

The information medium can be any entity or device capable of storing the program. For example, the medium can comprise a storage means, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or a magnetic recording means, such as a hard disk, or even a USB key. (" USB flash drive " in English).

On the other hand, the information medium can be a transmissible medium such as an electrical or optical signal, which can be conveyed via an electrical or optical cable, by radio or by other means. The computer program according to the invention can in particular be downloaded from an Internet type network.

As a variant, the information medium can be an integrated circuit in which the program is incorporated, the circuit being adapted to execute or to be used in the execution of the service restoration method according to the invention.

Claims (16)

1. Residential gateway, comprising means for, following the detection of a failure consisting in that at least one service to which said gateway normally allows access is no longer accessible or in that the quality of at least one service to which it normally provides access is degraded:

   - searching for at least one IP route, called a backup route, to a recipient of data associated with said service, said backup route passing

   • through an IP interface of said residential gateway, called a backup interface, other than the link between the residential gateway and its nominal network connection equipment, and

   • through another communicating device, called a backup device, with which the residential gateway is able to establish a network association, and

   - selecting such a backup route to ensure the provision of said service using said broadcasting device as a relay,

   characterized in that said backup device belongs to a set of backup devices in which dedicated identifiers, called backup identifiers, which are recognizable by said residential gateway, have been configured, these backup devices broadcasting said dedicated backup identifiers with which they have been configured, and in that said residential gateway further comprises means for detecting the presence of said backup device by listening for and recognizing at least one said dedicated backup identifier broadcast by said backup device.
2. Residential gateway according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises means for, following said selection of at least one backup route, updating a routing table comprising said backup route.
3. Residential gateway according to Claim 2, characterized in that said routing table comprises said backup route before said detection of a failure.
4. Residential gateway according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it further comprises means for:

   - detecting said failure,

   - searching for at least one route that can connect it to at least one gateway supervision centre, and

   - if it finds such a route and if it detects a failure, using this route to send at least one failure report to at least one gateway supervision centre.
5. Residential gateway according to Claim 4, characterized in that it comprises means for sending said failure report via an IP interface or via the data link layer.
6. Service restoration system, comprising:

   - at least one residential gateway according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, and

   - at least one other communicating device, called a backup device, comprising means for serving as a relay for said residential gateway to ensure the provision of said service, and means for broadcasting a dedicated backup identifier recognizable by the residential gateway and with which it has been configured.
7. Service restoration system according to Claim 6, characterized in that said backup identifier is characteristic of the technology of said backup interface and/or of said service.
8. Service restoration system according to Claim 6 or Claim 7, characterized in that said backup device further comprises means for temporarily ceasing broadcasting said dedicated backup identifier when it does not have an operational IP route for providing the one or more services associated with this dedicated backup identifier.
9. Service restoration method, comprising the following steps:

   - detecting a failure consisting in that at least one service to which a residential gateway normally allows access is no longer accessible or in that the quality of at least one service to which a residential gateway normally provides access is degraded,

   - said gateway searching for at least one IP route, called a backup route, to a recipient of data associated with said service, said backup route passing

   • through an IP interface of said gateway, called a backup interface, other than the link between the gateway and its nominal network connection equipment, and

   - through another communicating device, called a backup device, with which the residential gateway is able to establish a network association, and

   - the residential gateway selecting such a backup route to ensure the provision of said service using said broadcasting device as a relay, characterized in that said backup device belongs to a set of backup devices in which dedicated identifiers, called backup identifiers, which are recognizable by said residential gateway, have been configured, these backup devices broadcasting said dedicated backup identifiers with which they have been configured, and in that the residential gateway has detected the presence of said backup device by listening for and recognizing at least one said dedicated backup identifier broadcast by said backup device.
10. Service restoration method according to Claim 9, characterized in that, following said selection of at least one backup route, it comprises a step of updating a routing table comprising said backup route.
11. Service restoration method according to Claim 10, characterized in that said routing table comprises said backup route before said detection of a failure.
12. Service restoration method according to any one of Claims 9 to 11, characterized in that said backup identifier is characteristic of the technology of said backup interface and/or of said service.
13. Service restoration method according to any one of Claims 9 to 12, characterized in that said failure detection is performed by said gateway, and in that the gateway then implements the following steps:

    - searching for at least one route that can connect it to at least one gateway supervision centre, and

    - if it finds such a route, using this route to send at least one failure report to at least one gateway supervision centre.
14. Service restoration method according to Claim 13, characterized in that said residential gateway sends said failure report via an IP interface or via the data link layer.
15. Non-removable, or partially or completely removable, data storage means comprising computer program code instructions for executing all of the steps of a service restoration method according to any one of Claims 9 to 14.
16. Computer program that can be downloaded from a communication network and/or stored on a medium that can be read by a computer and/or executed by a microprocessor, characterized in that it comprises instructions for executing all of the steps of a service restoration method according to any one of Claims 9 to 14, when it is executed on a computer.

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